Ohio Furnace Co. v. Commissioner

25 T.C. 179, 1955 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 54
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedOctober 31, 1955
DocketDocket Nos. 29531, 37057, 47330
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 25 T.C. 179 (Ohio Furnace Co. v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ohio Furnace Co. v. Commissioner, 25 T.C. 179, 1955 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 54 (tax 1955).

Opinions

OPINION.

Turner, Judge:

Petitioner Shattuck-Ohio Foundation contends that it is entitled to exemption under both section 101 (6) and 101 (14) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1939,1 and, alternatively, that if it is not exempt under these sections of the Code, it is then exempt under the provisions of section 302 (d) of the Revenue Act of 1950.2

To qualify for exemption under section 101 (6), the Foundation must satisfy three conditions. First, it must have been organized and, during the years herein, must have been operated exclusively for educational purposes. Second, no part of its earnings may have inured to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. And third, no substantial part of its activities may have been the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation.

The parties are in agreement that the Foundation did not indulge in the carrying on of propaganda or otherwise attempting to influence legislation. It is clear also that it was organized exclusively for educational purposes. The specific purpose of its organization, as shown by the evidence, was to give financial assistance to the Shattuck School, and though, the assistance to he given, according to its charter, is not limited to the Shattuck School, any other organizations which may be benefited must be nonprofit corporations organized under the laws of the State of Minnesota for educational purposes and which are engaged in the same activities as the Shattuck School, namely, in the conduct of schools of learning for the education of boys below the college or university level.

It is the contention of the respondent that the Foundation was not operated exclusively for educational purposes during the years herein, since in those years it made no distributions of income for educational purposes, as stated, but used substantially all of its income in making payments to the sellers of the Furnace Company stock in satisfaction of notes of the Foundation held by those sellers. He takes the further position that by reason of tire payments of substantially all of the income of the Foundation to the sellers of the stock, the net earnings of the Foundation did inure to the benefit of private individuals, contrary to the requirement of the statute.

There can be no question, we think, that the last contention stated is not well taken. Respondent makes no point that the trustees of the Shattuck School in organizing the Foundation did not do so in good faith or that the transactions and negotiations in the purchasing of the Furnace Company stock were not at arm’s length. Moreover, the price paid for the stock in our opinion appears to have been reasonable, and the respondent does not contend otherwise. In acquiring the stock of the Furnace Company the Foundation was making an investment which under its charter could be used for no other purpose than the benefit of educational institutions in the State of Minnesota, and more particularly nonprofit corporations organized under the laws of that State for educational purposes and engaged in conducting schools of learning for the education of boys below the college or university level. Inasmuch as the investment in the Furnace Company stock was a sound investment and the price was fair, the payments from the Foundation’s income to the sellers of the Furnace Company stock did not constitute an inurement of the Foundation’s income to them but was the consideration in a purchase of stock for value received.

Remaining is the question whether the use by the Foundation of substantially all of its income for making the investment in Furnace Company stock, as contrasted with immediate and direct application thereof to the Shattuck School or other comparable schools, makes the operation of the Foundation other than an operation exclusively for educational purposes within the meaning of section 101 (6). The only reference in the statute bearing specifically upon the use of income is the prohibition that no part of the net earnings of the corporation, fund, or foundation may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. Conversely, it is reasonable to conclude, we think, that the requirements of 101 (6) are satisfied if all of the income inures to the benefit of, or is in promotion of, an operation which is exclusively educational. Certainly there is no requirement that the income must either be used or distributed in the year realized for the described purpose, and we know of no case wherein a corporation, fund, or foundation was denied exempt status merely because it accumulated its income for distribution in a succeeding or later year. See Alan Levin Foundation, 24 T. C. 15. On the record here it may be said, we think, that there is no present intention that any of the income invested in the Furnace Company stock will ever be applied directly to school operations, but, on the other hand, it does appear that the fruits of the investment must be used exclusively for the prescribed purposes. In short, the facts show with certainty that all of the income of the Foundation, including that which is being invested in the Furnace Company stock must inure solely and exclusively to the benefit of the Shattuck School or some other Minnesota nonprofit organization organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes. Such being the case, it follows, we think, that the use of the income of the Foundation in the purchase of the Furnace Company stock was the use thereof solely and exclusively for the educational purposes for which the foundation was organized. Compare Alan Levin Foundation, supra. See also Arthur Jordan Foundation v. Commissioner, 210 F. 2d 885. We accordingly hold that the Shattuck-Ohio Foundation was organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes within the meaning of section 101 (6).

Petitioner Ohio Furnace Company, Inc., likewise, claims exemption from Federal income tax under section 101 (6) of the Code and section 302 (d) of the Revenue Act of 1950. The Furnace Company during the years in issue was operating a company engaged in the trade or business of the sale and distribution of heating and lighting machinery, facilities, appliances, and equipment. All of the stock of the Furnace Company was owned by the Foundation and during the years here in question the entire net earnings of the Furnace Company were distributed in dividends to the Foundation or retained by the corporation for its current needs. Petitioner contends that inasmuch as it was organized and operated exclusively as a “feeder” corporation for the Foundation, that no part of its net earnings inured to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual, and that all the years involved are prior to 1951, it is an. exempt corporation under the principle of Roche's Beach, Inc. v. Commissioner, 96 F. 2d 776; C. F. Mueller Co. v. Commissioner, 190 F. 2d 120; Jack Little Foundation v. Jones, 102 F. Supp. 326; Sico Co. v. United States, 102 F. Supp. 197; Rome Oil Mill v. Willingham, 68 F. Supp. 525; and Willingham v. Rome Oil Mill, 181 F. 2d 9. Petitioner recognizes the conflicting re-suits reached by the circuit courts in the Mueller case and in United States v. Community Services, Inc., 189 F. 2d 421, as well as the consideration given the question herein involved by this Court in reaching its decision in the Mueller case at 14 T. C. 922, and in its subsequent decisions in Joseph B. Eastman Corporation, 16 T. C. 1502, and Donor Realty Corporation, 17 T. C. 899.

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Bluebook (online)
25 T.C. 179, 1955 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohio-furnace-co-v-commissioner-tax-1955.